College can be a great time to explore multiple interests. While your academic major offers a direction for future career paths, adding a minor can also add value to your degree. In addition to the skills and knowledge gained from your major, a minor provides an opportunity for exposure to different fields of study, which can help broaden personal and professional opportunities.
At UMBC, a minor is usually between 18-25 credits and while not mandatory for graduation, can be a terrific addition to any major. Here are some reasons why you should think about considering a minor.
Earn more credits towards graduation!
As you know, it takes 120 total credits, including 45 upper-level credits, to graduate. What if your chosen major doesn’t provide all those credits needed for you to graduate? Adding a minor could help! Many minors offer the flexibility to choose electives based on your own interests within that field of study and there’s usually the chance to get extra upper-level courses done as well. Check out the GEP courses you’ve completed so far for ideas - lower-level courses you’ve already completed could be the pre-requisites needed for a new minor.
Complement your major!
Consider how extra or specialized knowledge could complement your bachelor’s degree. If your minor is in a similar field as your major, this can be a way to explore subtopics within that field and add depth to the focus of your overall studies. This can be excellent preparation for future research specializations if you’re looking to attend graduate or professional school programs as well.
Explore interests outside of your major!
A minor can also be used as a way to explore talents and passions outside of your academic major. Minors can offer the chance to pursue other interests while also teaching you skills different from your major. These programs could serve as a creative outlet and give you the chance to network with students and faculty beyond your major department.
Broaden your job opportunities!
Since a minor is a way to build new skills and gain experience in a different field, this could help you with future job opportunities. Having broad coursework in multiple disciplines could help set you apart as a competitive applicant in the eyes of employers. The academic knowledge as well as other transferrable skills you gain through a minor can be an awesome addition to your resume.
The world is interdisciplinary!
The term “interdisciplinary” is used to describe the integration of more than one academic discipline. We see this phenomenon happening across so many fields today, which is inspiring innovative collaboration to solve complex problems in our society. How might diverse perspectives from other academic fields help you as you prepare for your future career? Choosing a minor with this mentality in mind can help you truly broaden your educational horizons and contribute in unique ways to your future career path.
As you can see, students of all majors can benefit from adding a minor for many different reasons. You can see a full list of degree programs at UMBC, including minors, here as well as departmental advising contacts here.
Here are a few program highlights to get you thinking:
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor: Regardless of major, this minor helps students develop an entrepreneurial mindset and skillset that will make them more valuable contributors on the job and in their communities. Involvement in the program will provide access to successful entrepreneurs in the region which will provide valuable networking and mentoring opportunities. Also, check out the concentration in Arts Entrepreneurship.
- Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication Minors: A foreign language minor helps you develop communication skills and understand the complexities of an increasingly interdependent, multilingual, and multicultural world. Speaking more than one language and knowing about more than one culture is a definite advantage in any career.
- Computing Minor: For those students not majoring in Computer Science, Engineering, or Information Systems but who are interested in programming, this program consists of foundational courses in computing followed by electives from multiple disciplines. This minor prepares students for a world where computing is an integral part of their future, no matter what their major.
- Public Health Minor: A minor in Public Health (formerly HAPP) is great for anyone interested in allied health programs, pre-medical studies, biology, sociology, anthropology, non-profit organization or governmental work, healthcare jobs, and more.
- Judaic Studies Minor: This interdisciplinary minor provides a curriculum designed to build understanding of Judaism from historical, literary, social, cultural, religious, and philosophical perspectives. It’s great for students interested in careers in fields such as archaeology, historical research, education, social work, Jewish communal service, intercultural and international relations, and complements various humanities and social science majors.
We encourage you to take some time and think about your interests and career goals to see if adding a minor could be right for you! Talk it over with your advisor for more ideas as well and if you’re ready to declare a minor, you can do so using the declaration of major form.
Whether it stems from personal or professional interests, adding new experiences, research, and coursework through a minor could help you towards your future goals in many unique ways.
Are there any minors that you’re considering right now? Let us know!